3/27/2008

What's the difference between the Greens and Labour ? - More beards and cardigans perhaps ?

A few days ago the Green Party signed away its right to be thought of as a separate entity in the capital city be signing an agreement urging its supporters to give their second preference to Ken Livingstone and the Labour Party. This desperate act by the Greens might have won them some publicity, but will lose them many votes.

Recent opinion polls indicate Ken Livingstone is no longer popular and will lose of it is a straight fight between him and Boris Johnston. All the Greens have done is sign away their right to be seen as independent of Ken "Vote Green - Vote Labour - Get Boris Anyway" will have to be their unofficialstrap line for all their leaflets. But more than just signing away their voters to the Labour Party, their aim appears to be to stop anyone else from beating Boris Johnston.

Many in the blogosphere, and those on Politicalbetting.com have suggested in recent days that if more and more people start to realise that Ken cannot stop Boris, it opens the door to a possible surge for Lib Dem mayoral candidate Brian Paddick. Iain Dale hinted that if the polls started to move towards Paddick at all, this might happen. It appears though that the Greens, it appears, are desperate, and I emphasise the word "desperate", to stop this at all costs.

Increasingly the Greens are looking more and more desperate. In recent by-elections they have performed badly, especially in key wards in London Boroughs they have been working for some years. Their environmental credentials are no more special than any other party's policies whilst their slightly barn pot ideas like closing Nuclear reactors but importing more electricity from France (which is 80% Nuclear) show they have no real solutions to the problems we face. Increasingly the Greens are sounding tired.

In areas where the Greens have had a taste of power (Oxford) they have stalled whilst even in Norwich, where the Greens have made outstanding gains in recent years (and can expect to make further gains in wards this years where they already have the two existing councillors, the people are starting to see the Greens as nothing more than Green Labour and the London Party's "arrangement" with Labour will make many Greens wonder whether or not they ought to just vote Labour anyway.

So what is the difference between the Greens and Labour ? Slightly wackier clothes than Labour and more sandals perhaps ?

4 comments:

Yes, the Greens have made tits of themselves again. Although I hold strong environmentalist views, I doubt whether I'd ever give my support to them. It's going to have to be 1) Paddick 2) Johnson for me. Though I don't live in London, so I doubt whether Leavingsoon will be shedding any tears over that.

Its also a sign of desperation on the part of the Livingstone campaign. Haemorrhaging votes they are looking for any ports in the storm, hence the absurd attack on Brian Paddick for wanting to privatise the Tube when in reality all he is proposing is that the network is run in the same, successful, way that the bus, Docklands Light Rail and overground rail is in London.